Transparent protective and display envelope



Aug. 29, 1950 A. F. ALLEN 2,520,449

TRANSPARENT PROTECTIVE AND DISPLAY ENVELOPE Filed March 6, 1947 u.s.W35? 1% 3- INVENTOR. 9

if fiywjld Z9147 BY Patented Aug. 29, 1950 UNITED STAT :PATENTTRANSPARENT PROTE'GTI-VE AND DISPLAY EN W EL OPE AmcsF. Allen, Newark,N. 3.

Application March 6, 1947', Serial No. 732,88?

. -2 ,(liairns. i This invention relates to improvements in transparentenclosures or envelopes for protecting and displayingthe contentenclosed therein; and the invention has reference, more particularly, toa novel construction of transparent enclosure or envelope which isespecially adapted for use by dealers and collectors for protectivelyenclosing and yet displaying postage stamp specimens or similar items,and for similar uses.

Theinvention has for an object to provide a novel construction oftransparent protective and display envelope comprising a longitudinallyfoldable body adapted to provide endwise adjoined sections, one sectionbeing formed to provide an envelope compartment open toward the othersection, and said other section being formed to provide a back or basesection having, across its free end part, an inwardly open pocket oflimited depth, into which the free end portion of the envelopecompartment may be tucked, when said envelope compartment is folded overonto the back or base, so as to-be closed by the latter.

The invention has for another object to provide, in connectionwith thenovel enclosure or envelope structure as above characterized, means foralso holding within the tuck pocket of the backer-base section; subjecttodisplay, an insert or tag bearing indicia. relating to the itemenclosed in the envelope compartment. The invention has for a morespecific object to provide a novel transparent enclosure or envelopefora postage stamp specimen, wherebythe specimen enclosed therein, whilesubject to view through: a transparent wall of the enclosure orenvelope; is so protected by theenclosure or envelope as to beeffectively guarded againstinjury, soiling or other damage duringhandling or when mounted'in a collectors album.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularlyenumerated, will be understood-from the following detailed description.

An illustrative. embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Pig. in a face view of a blankofmaterial from which the novel protectiveand display envelope according to this invention is made.

Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6 and '7 are respectively grace views showing variousstages inthe'manipulation ofthe blank of Fig. 1 as carried on toproducethe envelope structure.

Fig. 4 is a face view of an identification insert or tag adaptedtobeincorporatedein'the envelope structure.

'aliig. Bris a rearirace view. ofgtheienvelope strucwindow forming panelZii.

by-a suitable oementorglue (see Fig.3) these parts havelbeendisposed-andsecuredin the 2 ture in the open condition thereof as shownin Fig.7.

Fig. 9. is a front face .view' of the envelope structure in its closedcondition.

Fig; 10 is a longitudinal sectional view through the open envelopestructure; takenonline [0-40 in Fig. l, but drawn on ansen-larged scale;and Fig. ll is a longitudinal sectional View. through the closedenvelope structure, taken on line l.=|ll in Figl pbut drawn onanenlarged scale.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the hereinabovedescribed views, to indicate corresponding parts.

The protective and displayenvelope of this invention is produced from asuitable transparent flexible sheet materialsuche. .g. as cellophane orsimilar material. Theenvelope is formed from an integral blank of suchmaterial shaped to provide its various parts: which are to be folded,lapped and adhesively united in the required cooperative relationswhereby the envelope structure is obtained.

The blank iromwhich the envelope is formed is. shown :in "Fig. l, andcomprises a substantially rectangular main body portion, of suitablewidth and length; which provides aback or base section l2 and anenvelopecompartment sectionin end :to end adjoined relation as delimitedby a transverse fold line i3. Said envelope compart.- mentsectioncomprises a front window wall portion it and a back wall portion !5,adjoined. to theouterend of the former at a transverse fold line 15.Extending from the sides of the front or window. Wallportion M of saidenvelope compartment section are lateral wing portions 17 ad- :ioinedthereto at longitudinaliold lines l8. Adjoining the free endxof the:back or base section .42, at a transverse .fold lin i9, is a pocket andRespectively adjoin.- ing theoppositc ends ofsaid panel 213, at foldlines .2} are laterallyprojecting.pocket. endclosure tabs 22.Adjoiningthe outer margin of saidpanel .2 3, at a transversewfold linerkfi is atransverse'fiap 24.

In. manipulatingthe blank which is formed as above. described, wherebyto produce the 1 envelope structure according to this invention, theback wall portion 1; it. of the envelope. compartment sect is turnedaboutthefold-line lfiso as tooverlie ,the 'front or windowwall portion14 (see Fig. 2), whereupon the lateral wing portions-l1"! are turnedabout their fold lines 18- soas 'to lap over the external face of said.back wall portion J5, beingithereupon securedin such relation,,as,e. g.When described relation, the same provide an endwise open envelopecompartment C intermediate said back and front or window wall portions;the end opening of said compartment being directed toward the back orbase section II, so as to lie contiguous to the fold line l3 whichextends between said back or base section l2 and the front wall portioni l of said envelope compartment section.

In the manipulation of the parts of the blank which are associated withback or base section l2, the flap 24 may be first turned inwardly, aboutthe fold line 23, to overlie the internal face of the panel 20, and, ifdesired, an identification insert or tag 25 (see Fig. 4) bearingidentifying indicia appropriate to an item which is to be insertedwithin the envelope compartment may, at this time, be enclosed betweenthe in-folded flap 24 and the internal face of the panel 23 (see Fig.5), and thus disposed in such relation to the latter that the indiciainscribed thereon will be visible through the window formed by the panelbody. After this is done, the panel 25 is turned inwardly, about thefold line l9, so as to overlie the internal surface of the lower endportion of the back or base section 52, with the flap 24 and insert ortag 25 enclosed thereby disposed over the internal surface of the panel(see Fig. 6). The panel 20 having been thus operatively positioned, theend closure tabs 22 are turned rearwardly about the fold lines 2!, andinwardly over the external surface of the back or base section [2, beingthereupon secured in such relation, as e. g. by a suitable cement orglue (see Figs. 7 and 8). When the parts associated with the back orbase section l2 have been disposed and secured in the describedrelations, the same provide a transversely open tuck pocket P whichoverlies the lower end portion of the inner face of said back or basesection 12, and

which is open toward the envelope compartment l section of the evelopestructure.

When the envelope structure is completed as above described, its back orbase section and envelope compartment section extend oppositely one fromthe other, such relative positions thereof constituting the opencondition or" the envelope structure which is shown in Figs. '7 and 10.

In the use of the envelope structure, while the same is in the aforesaidopen condition, the

mouth of the envelope compartment C is exposed so as to give access tothe interior of said compartment for insertion therein of a stampspecimen S, or other item desired to be enclosed within the envelopestructure. The stamp S is placed printed face down upon the back or basesection l2, with its bottom end directed toward the envelope compartmentmouth, whereupon said stamp is slid onward through said mouth and intothe compartment, so that its printed face opposes the front or windowwall [4 of the compartment (see Figs. 7 and 8). The stamp S having beenentered in the envelope compartment, the envelope structure is closed byturning the envelope compartment section about the fold line l3 so as tooppose the same to the back or base section i2. To complete the closingof the envelope structure, and to retain its envelope compartment in aresultant closed condition, the free end portion of the envelopecompartment section is tucked into the pocket P of the back or basesection, so as to be held thereby in the described overfolded relationto said back or base section (see Figs. 9 and 11). As will be apparent,when the envelope compartment section is thus overfolded upon the backor base section l2 and 4 retained in such relation thereto in the mannerabove described, the enclosed stamp S will face outward toward thetransparent front or window wall M of the envelope section, so as to beclearly visible through the window thus provided. It will be obviousthat the stamp, as thus enclosed within the closed transparent envelopestructure, will not only be desirably displayed, but will also beefficiently protected against injury, soiling or other damage; and asthus protected may be freely handled by dealers and collectors withoutrisk of injury or soiling. Furthermore, the stamp specimen may bemounted in a collectors album without necessit for removal thereof fromthe envelope structure, since the latter, being transparent, permits thedesired display of the same therein, while at the same time continuingthe protection thereof against injury or soiling under such conditions.To mount the stamp enclosing envelope structure in an album, anysuitable method of attachment of the same to the album page may beresorted to. Preferably, the familiar and conventional gummed attachmenthinge H (shown by broken lines in Fig. 11) may be applied to the back ofthe envelope structure for this purpose.

It may be pointed out that the envelope structure, as arranged ininitial open condition, may have the flap 2 disposed to project from theinturned and secured pocket forming panel 20. In such case, an indiciabearing insert or tag 25, appropriate to a stamp S which has beeninserted in the evelope compartment, may be inserted in the pocket P toface the panel wall, and after said insert or tag is in place the flap24 may then be tucked into the pocket P and over and behind said insertor tag. It will be further understood that the flap 2 2 may, if desired,be omitted altogether, although its presence is preferable, even when aninsert or tag is not desired to be used, since it doubles and thusstrengthens the free or mouth edge of the panel 20, thereby diminishingrisk of tearing or other mutilation of such edge; which risk would begreater if said panel terminated in a single raw or cut mouth edge.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A protective and display envelope comprising a longitudinal body offlexible transparent sheet material adapted to provide endwise adjoinedsections foldable one over the other, one section being adapted toprovide a base member for attachment to a supporting means, the othersection being doubled upon itself to form an envelope compartment opentoward the base member and comprising a window wall in immediateextension from the base member and an overlying back wall united at itsfree edges to said window wall, said envelope compartment being adaptedwhen in open condition wherein the window wall lies substantiall in theplane of the base member to receive a display specimen arranged to facethe window wall and which is guided into said compartment by the frontface of said base mem ber, said envelope compartment also being adaptedwhen folded over the base member into closed condition wherein thewindow wall is in reversed, forwardly presented position to display saidspecimen in front of the base member and in superposed relation thereto,and a tuck pocket of limited depth extending across the free end part ofthe base member and opening toward the envelope compartment forremovable insertion of the free end part of the latter.

2. A protective and display envelope as defined 8 in claim 1 wherein thetuck pocket of the base member is formed by an infolded window paneljoined at its ends to the side edges of said base member and is adaptedto hold an indicia bearing tag facing the window panel, and a foldableflap extending from the free edge of said window panel and adapted to befolded into the tuck pocket over and behind any tag which may be indisplay position at the window panel, whereby a rounded smooth mouth forthe tuck pocket is provided and the displayed tag will be shieldedagainst engagement by the free end part of the tucked in envelopecompartment.

AMOS F. ALLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 590,795 Sleeth Sept. 28, 1897591,415 Morey Oct. 12, 1897 680,368 Shattuck Aug. 13, 1901 10 1,330,259Goldberg Feb. 10,. 1920 2,149,030 Moore Feb. 28, 1939 2,335,159Salfisberg Nov. 23, 1943 2,364,870 Otto Dec. 12, 1944

